Harlem on the Verge

Just after the turn of this century Alice Attie made a bus journey through Harlem and noticed that a Disney store had opened (shown on page forty-five but now closed I believe) and from this casual observation these intriguing photos emerged. She wanted to capture the feel of the real Harlem before gentrification took over. The seventy-eight photos reveal a colorful Harlem that shows a strong community feel. So many of the storefronts featured are clearly owned and run by the owners, their amateurish yet honest signage in complete contrast to the slick plastic and neon fronts that more commercially minded premises might think essential for business. I thought the storefront photos, frequently with individuals posing in front of them, came off best throughout the book because the compositions are so simple and straightforward, they just work. Strangely this simplicity is rather contrasted by a few photos that do look rather confusing: like the crowd scene outside the Old Navy store (page forty-three) or the severely cropped couple in a car (page thirty-seven). The book is the usual excellent Quantuck Lane Press production. Designed by Katy Homans and 175 screen printed by Mondadori, Verona. The only thing I slightly miss are more looking-to-the-horizon street photos. Page eight has a shot taken from the middle of a street with the parked cars and buildings receding to the distance, maybe four or five others like this would have cemented all storefront and other photos together. ***SEE SOME INSIDE PAGES by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.

I'm not from Harlem but it makes me no less sympathetic to the gentrification of the place that birthed the "Black Renaissance". This book has a very nice foreward that will capture in words what the artist is trying to say in her photographs. I have made a few visits to Harlem and saw some of what Ms. Attie portrayed in her photographs - national chain stores like Old Navy and H & M, cops harassing street vendors just trying to make it, and the worst of all, a large majority of the older stores that have been in the community for decades boarded up. It's very sad. I just wish there would have been more photographs, I didn't want it to end. I also noticed that on or near page 65 is a portrait of 3 children, one little girl has on a pink shirt. This portrait was also used on the cover of the book, "American dream : three women, ten kids, and a nation's drive to end welfare" by Jason DeParle. Just thought I'd point that out. Good job Ms. Attie!!